EURASIA
"Eurasia," "the Near Abroad," "former Soviet Union" - all of these terms refer to the countries which once comprised the U.S.S.R. and the Czarist empire before it. The region is located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Christianity and Islam. There are 15 ex-Soviet republics, home to 120 ethnic groups. Russia remains the dominant political force in this neighborhood.
Unlike most regions, Eurasia is not defined by a shared cultural heritage, nor is it bounded by natural geographic features. Rather, Eurasia is an artificially demarcated area whose limits are rooted in political history. This attribute is critical to understanding Russia's policies toward other former Soviet states, what strategists in the Kremlin refer to as "the Near Abroad."
Unlike most regions, Eurasia is not defined by a shared cultural heritage, nor is it bounded by natural geographic features. Rather, Eurasia is an artificially demarcated area whose limits are rooted in political history. This attribute is critical to understanding Russia's policies toward other former Soviet states, what strategists in the Kremlin refer to as "the Near Abroad."
BREAKAWAY STATES
The collapse of the Soviet Union had a destabilizing impact on Eurasia. Ethnic tensions held in check by decades of strict communist rule were suddenly and violently unleashed as new republics emerged seemingly overnight. The result: breakaway states. Some regions fought for independence from new national authorities. Many of these separatist movements are guaranteed by Russian military intervention. The ongoing crisis in east Ukraine is only the latest among such campaigns. Moscow often uses separatism as a means to keep Eurasian countries unstable, insecure, and inaccessible to outside powers. This tactic preserves a buffer zone along the Russian Federation's borders.
* denotes recognition by another breakaway state